MY STORY

My parents emigrated from Europe a few years before I was born, seeking a better life. They barely spoke English and had very little money or support. I was born in Brooklyn, NY and we lived in government subsidized housing on the outskirts of Coney Island. Dad drove a cab, mom worked at a dog grooming salon. After a few years in New York, we relocated to Los Angeles.

I was a pudgy kid growing up with an unruly mop of hair, elephantine front teeth, and thick oversized glasses. A real stunner.

I discovered a knack for business at 12 when I started selling gumballs to friends at school. Within a few weeks I was earning $10-$12/day, well on my way towards early retirement.

My parents divorced in my early teens and my mother moved us to the Pacific Northwest.

Mom opened a hair salon next to a mechanic shop in a small town about an hour south of Seattle. We couldn't afford housing and were homeless for a stretch, so we spent our first year living in the hair salon. My brother and I slept in sleeping bags on the floor and mom took the couch. We showered at a local hostel twice a week.

I worked a bunch of odd jobs throughout high school - Taco Bell, delivering pizzas, waiting tables, buying/selling used cars.

I started a bubble gum machine vending route while in college which ultimately led to launching Gumballs.com, a gumball and candy machine e-commerce website. I invested all of my time and savings into the business, regularly putting in 100-hour weeks.

Gumballs.com grew to become one of the largest online vending machine retailers in the world at the time.

I sold Gumballs.com a few years later. Along the way, I launched many other online businesses selling a variety of things including popcorn machines, gadgets, world globes, barber poles, furniture, chocolate, and sanitizing wipes.

In 2020 I divested myself of all of my businesses in order to focus on my new popcorn brand, Popsmith, alongside my business partner Dave Stickland. We spent nearly three years developing this brand and launched in summer 2023 on Kickstarter, resulting in top 1% of all Kickstarter campaigns ever. We’re passionate about spreading joy and elevating the snacking experience through popcorn! Sales took off instantly alongside some amazing press, including Food & Wine Magazine predicting Popsmith will be the top food trend of 2024.

Recently took up salsa dancing in an attempt to liberate myself from the entrepreneurial curse of a hyper-analytical mind. Loads of fun although I’m admittedly horrible at it.

TL;DR guy builds a bunch of online brands and businesses, becomes mediocre salsa dancer.